This is your complete guide to the top 12 best rides at Universal Orlando! While Universal is home to some of the best rides in all of Orlando, we think the best ones are VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure. However, we also love some of our favorite character attractions, like the Amazing Adventure of Spirder-Man and The Incredible Hulk Coaster.
We hope you find this post helpful! Our goal at The Park Prodigy has always been to help you save time and money on your next Universal Orlando vacation! If you are planning a trip to Universal Orlando, be sure to check out the latest deals on Universal Orlando vacation packages and our discounted Universal Orlando tickets, which include EARLY PARK ADMISSION to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!
SPECIAL NOTE: If you need help picking the best time to visit Universal Orlando for your next vacation, check out our Universal Crowd calendar!
Universal Orlando Crowd Calendar
Our top 5 best rides at Universal Orlando are VelociCoaster, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, the Hulk Coaster, Rip Ride Rocket, and Revenge of the Mummy. But no matter if you’re looking for a high-speed coaster or action-packed simulator ride, Universal attractions are made to keep you on the edge of your seat. We’ve been going to Universal since we were kids and can tell you which rides are truly the best of the best. Some of the rides on our list are included with the Early Park Admission. This ticket feature is included free with all of our Universal Orlando tickets! EPA makes it even easier to get on some of the most popular rides at Universal with little wait.
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Location: Toon Lagoon, Islands of Adventure
Height Requirement: 44 inches
Express Pass: Yes
Early Park Admission: No
Type of Ride: Thrilling, fun water ride
Important to Know: Surprisingly, Dudley Do-Right is the only Universal water ride to make our list of the best attractions at Universal Orlando. Guest will be delighted to hear that this log flume ride takes you through twists and turns, ending in a 75-foot drop. You are sure to get soaked when you ride this attraction, and it just made it on our list as it is one of the longer attractions and packs a punch with its intense drop.
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Location: Hollywood, Universal Studios Florida
Height Requirement: 34 inches
Express Pass: Yes
Early Park Admission: No
Type of Ride: A kid-friendly dark ride
Important to Know: This heartwarming ride takes its guests on a gentle bike ride with E.T. through the sky as you try to save his planet. You might even get to hear E.T. thank you personally for your hard work. Now, we understand that it might surprise some people that we include this on the list of the best Universal Studios rides. However, one of the main reasons is it’s the only original attraction from when the parks opened up in the early 90s. For that reason, we simply feel like no trip to Universal Studios Orlando is complete without a ride on E.T.
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Location: New York, Universal Studios Florida
Height Requirement: 40 inches
Express Pass: Yes
Early Park Admission: No
Type of Ride: 3-D/4-D ride simulator
Important to Know: In this motion-simulation ride, you’ll be riding along with classic transformers like Bumblebee and Optimus Prime (on the big screen in 3D) to save the planet from Megatron and his goons. Be prepared to be immersed in another world where the lines between fantasy and reality get blurry! If you are prone to motion sickness, we do not recommend this best Universal ride, as it does tend to aggravate that condition.
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Location: Diagon Alley, Universal Studios Florida / Hogsmeade Village, Islands of Adventure
Height Requirement: N/A
Express Pass: Yes
Early Park Admission: No
Type of Ride: Immersive train ride through the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Important to Know: Although the Hogwarts Express is the only ride on this list that you need need a park-to-park ticket to ride, we love everything about this attraction! Guests can hop on the train at either King’s Cross Station in Universal Florida or Hogsmeade Village in Islands of Adventure. Once on the train, you will enjoy the sights and sounds of the Wizarding World through the Hogwarts Express windows. Another reason why it made this list is because it has a different experience each way!
Extra Tip: Be sure to keep an eye out when Universal Orlando has both parks open for Early Park Admission, as guests can also ride the Hogwarts Express during this time with almost no wait!
Location: Marvel Super Hero Island, Islands of Adventure
Height Requirement: 40 inches
Express Pass: Yes
Early Park Admission: No
Type of Ride: 3-D / 4-D dark simulator
Important to Know: Guests get to join Spider-Man as he soars above the streets chasing bad guys. Although this ride is starting to become outdated, it is one of the very few Marvel rides located in all of Orlando! Marvel Superhero Islands is a huge draw for fans looking to meet some of their favorite Universal Orlando characters in the parks. Guests will also be delighted to see a few cameo appearances from the creation of the Marvel franchise Stan Lee throughout the ride.
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Location: Diagon Alley, Universal Studios Florida
Height Requirement: 42 inches
Express Pass: Yes
Early Park Admission: Yes
Type of Ride: 3-D / 4-D indoor rollercoaster
Important to Know: Harry Potter Escape from Gringotts is one of Universal Studios Florida rides that combines the technology of 3D screens, coaster tracks, and amazing storytelling. This ride features all of our favorite Harry Potter characters following the story in the Deathly Hallows film. You can expect this attraction to have innovative surprises around every twist and turn throughout the attraction.
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Location: Marvel Super Hero Island, Islands of Adventure
Height Requirement: 52 inches
Express Pass: Yes
Early Park Admission: No
Type of Ride: A thrilling drop ride
Important to Know: This ride is sure to pump your adrenaline as you test out Doctor Doom’s newest weapon to suck the fear right out of your soul. This ride launches you into the sky and then lets you free-fall back down the earth, causing an explosion of butterflies in your stomach. Doctor Doom’s Fear Fall is one of the most thrilling rides Universal Orlando offers on just height alone. Who isn’t afraid to plunge straight into the ground?
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Location: New York, Universal Studios Florida
Height Requirement: 48 inches
Express Pass: Yes
Early Park Admission: No
Type of Ride: A thrilling indoor coaster with an inversion
Important to Know: The Mummy ride at Universal has some of the older animatronic technology that has stood the test of time and made this ride a fan favorite. You start the ride traveling through the riches and ruins of The Mummy sets, being tempted by treasure rooms and then being attacked by scarabs. From there, this Universal thrill ride quickly turns into a rollercoaster and blasts you right through the mouth of The Mummy. The coaster portion of this ride is not that long, but we love it! That’s why Revenge of the Mummy comes in at five on our list of best rides at Universal Orlando!
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Location: New York, Universal Studios Florida
Height Requirement: 51 inches
Express Pass: Yes
Early Park Admission: No
Type of Ride: Thrilling outdoor coaster with steep drops
Important to Know: Rip Ride Rockit is technically the only Universal Studios roller coaster offered in Universal Studios Florida. From the outside, this coaster looks to be one of the scariest rides in Universal Studios, with its extreme 17-story vertical lift and a deep, intense drop. You can rock out while riding along on this coaster, through twists and turns, and even enter Universal Studios’ backlot area! While this coaster is thrilling, it is also rather outdated and has no inversion loops.
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Location: Marvel Super Hero Island, Islands of Adventure
Height Requirement: 54 inches
Express Pass: Yes
Early Park Admission: No
Type of Ride: Thrilling steel coaster
Important to Know: The Incredible Hulk Ride in Universal Orlando is a wild coaster that is featured in Islands of Adventure Park on Marvel Island. This is one of Universal’s biggest rides, featuring inversions, a zero-G roll, a cobra roll, and several vertical loops. Launching guests at 67 mph, the Incredible Hulk ride in Orlando is extremely intense and is not for the faint of heart. Even if you aren’t a huge Marvel fan, the Hulk ride will still entice those who are looking for a pure rush. It also isn’t one of the newer Universal Orlando rides, so the wait time might not be as bad as others.
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Location: Homemade Village, Islands of Adventure
Height Requirement: 48 inches
Express Pass: No
Early Park Admission: Yes
Type of Ride: Thrilling coaster with drops
Important to Know: Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure might not be our number one most thrilling ride in Universal Orlando, but it is our favorite! It is one of Universal Orlando’s new rides and has stolen the hearts of thrill seekers and Harry Potter fans. The backward thrills, high-speed bursts, and magical creature sightings are what make this one of the best rides in Universal Orlando! You will be entertained the entire time, and we guarantee you will leave this ride with a huge smile on your face.
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Location: Jurassic Park, Islands of Adventure
Height Requirement: 51 inches
Express Pass: Yes
Early Park Admission: Yes
Type of Ride: Thrilling coaster
Important to Know: This ride is now the most popular Jurassic Park ride in Orlando and takes the cake when it comes to thrill. It’s also the scariest ride in Orlando, with two launches over 50 mph, a 100-foot-long zero-g-stall, and various drops, turns, and loops. You’ll be dangled upside down over the water, twisted through various rocks and trees while chased by beloved velociraptors. This ride is not for the faint of heart and quite easily takes the title of the best thrill ride at Universal Orlando.
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A: The most thrilling ride at Universal Orlando Resort is VelociCoaster, which has two high-speed launches along with barrel rolls, intense hang time, and more. VelociCoaster is the fastest ride at Universal Orlando, with speeds maxing out at 70 mph.
Our Universal Orlando Crowd Calendar is the best tool to help you get the most out of your time in the parks. We break down the park crowds, park hours of operation, ticket prices by day, and average temperature.
Beat the crowds with our discount Universal Orlando tickets! All guests who purchase their tickets from The Park Prodigy will get EARLY PARK ADMISSION to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter FREE! This could save you a ton of time in the parks, and avoid buying express passes!